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A very good option. I've been to Vancouver and it seems like a great city sporting the second largest Chinese/Asian population outside of China/Asia - San Francisco being the largest.
You will find some familiar South African/British goodies there, like Castle beer, Marmite and Smarties. There is also a large importer of South African groceries in Vancouver.
The climate is typical of the Northwest and a lot like Seattle where your sister lives.
And, don't let a bit of rain and snow discourage you. That is nothing compared to conditions that (apparently) lie ahead for South Africa.
Good luck!

Moving2018, your mobile provider question reminded of something. One of the most difficult "situations" to deal with, is the fact that you will have no credit record - no credibility - when you arrive in the US. It does not matter how good a financial record you enjoyed in SA, here you start from scratch again.
A mobile contract will help you to build your credit record. A credit card will do the same, provided that you keep the balance at zero, meaning, use it and clear the balance as soon as possible. But, and this is a big but, you will find the banks to be very reluctant to issue credit cards to people with no credit records, and if they do, the credit amount will be very small.
But, it will be a start.

That is the best strategy.
Moving here is like trying to replace all your CD's that were stolen. If you try to replace them all at once, it will lead to endless frustration and big expenses, but if you bide your time the collection will be built up again.
Don't be shy to visit thrift stores like Goodwill - people from all walks of life shop there! At the Dollar Store/Dollar Tree you can for example buy crockery at $1 apiece. It's not going to last you forever, but it does not matter. It's cheap and for now that's all that matters. At Goodwill you can find expensive clothing marked down to very affordable prices and very often the tags are still on them which means it's brand new. And they have crockery, cutlery, furniture, etc.
Check out your local Craigslist for bargain offerings and even free ones.
Best of luck!

Old, perhaps your wife could apply for South African citizenship - just to be on the safe side. On the other hand however, a period of 3 years is quite a long time for you make up your mind about staying or not.
I turned 50 as well shortly after arrival and our boys were almost 11 years old. It was somewhat difficult for two predominantly Afrikaans speaking kids to adapt in the beginning, and they had their share of bullying, but they came through unscathed. They were also young enough not to have formed "deep" friendships at school in South Africa and I think the same will apply to your daughter.
My wife and I had a long discussion before we decided to start the process, and we asked ourselves why we would consider such a monumental step. We concluded that this would be a great opportunity to provide our kids with a better chance in life and we reminded ourselves of that fact every time when we became despondent or homesick. And we survived. We have also decided beforehand that if we really couldn't make it here, we would cut our losses and go back to Cape Town.
See, if you don't give this a try, you'll always wonder in future if staying in SA was the right option. Things look pretty bleak over there from what I can gather.
Old, it's a tough decision. There are SA's who moved here with high expectations, only to return home not long after because things didn't work out. Thousands of others made it and are now happy citizens.
There is no guarantee that you and your family will succeed in the US, but give it a try if you can, otherwise you will always wonder...

That's very true.
It's been said over and over on this forum, leaving your country (comfort zone) is not for sissies.
But we South Africans are made of stern stuff and we are familiar with "vasbyt". So, come on over and "byt vas".